Personal Reflections On a Year Of Writing For Bleacher Report

Very rarely do I reflect on the past. As far as I am concerned, I am a person with an eye toward to future while being engaged in the present.

But the past said hello to me today. As I looked inside the Women's Professional Soccer section to read other articles on the league, I realized that I was rated as the No. 1 rated writer in the WPS Community.

I thought to myself, "No way. It couldn't be."

I had just finished writing some new articles on the reserve players on the Los Angeles Sol, as well as this week's WPS Power rankings, and I blinked a few times before the reality set in.

I am honored and humbled to be the top WPS writer here on Bleacher Report. I never expected that I would earn this distinction. This is a testament to the hard work I put in giving this league the exposure it deserves.

It all started when I wrote an article on my expectations surrounding Marta as a member of the Los Angeles Sol. It was a memo, delivering a crystal-clear message: "It's Hardware or Bust!"

From that point, everything snowballed. Suddenly, I was writing article after article on our league, as well as on the team I follow, the Los Angeles Sol.

It never crossed my mind that the hard work I put in would translate into something like this. I don't write for Bleacher Report as a means of gaining respect, or in the hopes of becoming a sports journalist paid peanuts to be on Around the Horn on ESPN.

You see, the reason I write for Bleacher Report is because I have, as you do, a passion for sport in general.

Whether it's soccer, or football, or rugby, or baseball, or even the Olympics (which is about the time I wrote my first article), I embrace sport as a way to instill pride in who I am, where I come from, and a way to express my love for this thing we call life.

In this open-source sports network, we write about a variety of topics, and we debate about these topics with gusto.

It's a wonderful concept that dates back to the years of antiquity. This honor adds to it.

I want to thank our community leader Todd Civin, John Howell, Shoy Slogan, Zander Freund, and the many editors, critics and friends I have met here on b/r.

But most of all, I would like to especially thank each and every one of YOU for your support of what we write. My goal here has been to write about the teams I follow, the leagues I love (including the WPS), the players that have made their mark, and the many different sports that we all embrace and appreciate as fans.

Because that, in my humble opinion, is what Bleacher Report is all about. Cheers, and be sure to stay tuned for more great stuff here on b/r.